Death toll in Mumbai`s building collapse jumps to 10, rescue operations continue

The death toll in Kesarbhai building collapse in Mumbai's Dongri jumped to 10, including six males and four females, on Tuesday. At least 8 people have sustained injuries in the incident and are receiving treatment at J J Hospital and Habib Hospital.

The deceased have been identified as Sabiya Nisar Shaik, Abdul Sattar Kali Shaik, Muzamil Mansoor Salmani, Saira Rehan Shaik, Arhan Shehjad, Kashyap Ameerajan, Sana Mulani, Ibrahim and Javed Ismail. The identity of one of the deceased is still not known.

The four-storey building collapsed like a pack of cards at around 11:40 AM and since the building was located in a locality full of narrow lanes it became tough for fire brigade vehicles and rescue vehicles to reach the site of the incident directly. Three teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) are still engaged in rescue operations as it is feared that some people are still buried under the debris of collapsed building.

It is learnt that the building had been issued a notice in 2017 that it needs to be evacuated at the earliest. "This office has received the audit report from the said trust dtd. 31.07.2017 wherein the said Building is classified as 'C1 ie. to be evacuated for demolition at the earliest. It is now learnt to the office that the said Kesarbai Building is a MHADA Cess building. This office staff had also confirmed with Executive Engineer Shri. Deokar that the said Kesarbai Building is a cessed property," the BMC notice in 2017 had stated.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed sadness over the collapse of the four-storey building and said that the incident is deeply anguishing. The prime minister expressed condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the incident and wished speedy recovery for the injured people. 

"Collapse of a building in Mumbai’s Dongri is anguishing. My condolences to the families of those who lost their lives. I hope the injured recover soon. Maharashtra Government, NDRF and local authorities are working on rescue operations & assisting those in need," the PMO said in a tweet.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that the collapsed building was around 100 years old and the residents of the building had met MHADA officials for the redevelopment of the building. "We will launch an investigation to find out whether it was carried out or not," Fadnavis said.